The Hidden Realism Depicted in 'The Sopranos'
Realism Beyond the Mob Life of The Sopranos
The Sopranos is well known for its brutal mob life that shows the raw reality of Tony Soprano's world. But what we often forget is that the show is equally as unpredictable, nuanced, captivating and honest in its portrayal of everyday family life.
Whether it's Tony and Carmela coping with the ever changing dynamics of their marriage and their children's lives, or the way in which the show reveals the grey shades of suburban life with a realism and sincerity unlike many other programs, The Sopranos always delivers.
It's in these scenes that we get to explore the humanity of the characters with its deep and often dark humor, as well as its carefully crafted relationships. It's in these moments that some of the show's most striking scenes play out, allowing us to witness the joys, pains, anxieties and secrets of the Sopranos family.
Tony's relationship with his mother Livia, for instance, is a key example of a deep and complex family bond. Their bond and unique understanding of one another is at times a source of pleasure for Tony, and other times a source of unimaginable pain or frustration. This dynamic shows us that family bonds are never clear cut - that even if the people we share a bond with are "bad" people, the nature of that bond can still be strong and complex.
The Raw Humanity of The Sopranos
It's this raw humanity that can be so difficult to find in other art forms. The beauty of the show was that, even when everything was covered in a veneer of violence, there was still a realness beneath. Even when the mob life became really dangerous, we could still comprehend the humanity behind all of it.
Perhaps the show's most brilliant accomplishment was in its ability to blend these two worlds together. Exterior scenes of mob life and never-ending violence were rooted in family bonds, while more traditional family scenes showed us the very real struggles that make up the modern American family.
In this show, creator David Chase managed to capture the dark underbelly of the mob world with the depressingly honest mundanity of domestic life. This is why The Sopranos felt so human and real, and why it will always be remembered as one of the greatest television shows of all time.